Ear wax, or cerumen, is a normal secretion that becomes a problem in certain circumstances. For instance, excessive and impacted ear wax is a clinical concern because it can obstruct visualization of the tympanic membrane for health assessments. Furthermore, if ear wax is in contact with the tympanic membrane, it can cause discomfort and occasionally vertigo, tinnitus, or chronic cough. As another example, impacted cerumen may cause a conductive hearing loss, resulting in reduced hearing ability and interfering with formal hearing assessments.
Conventional treatment options for ear wax removal vary in their efficacy, time and safety. One common procedure is use of cotton-tipped swabs to clean the ear, but this is potentially dangerous in that the swab can push ear wax further into the ear, perforate the ear drum, and/or abrade the ear canal. Use of cerumenolytic agents dissolve or soften ear wax and are often used in combination with other ear wax removal treatments, but these agents can only break down the outermost surface of impacted ear wax and are ineffective on deeper portions of ear wax. Another treatment is “ear candling”, a process involving placing a hollow candle in the ear canal and lighting one end of the candle, with the intent of allowing heat to create a pressure differential that draws cerumen out of the ear. However, studies have shown that ear candling is ineffective, and is even potentially dangerous. Typically performed by medical practitioners, irrigation is a common procedure that involves expelling fluid from a syringe directly into the ear canal to dislodge and wash out ear wax. However, in its current form, this messy and time-consuming procedure is performed without the ability to visualize or easily control the direction of the fluid, and risks complications such as a perforated ear drum.
Thus, there is a need in the medical field to create an improved system for illuminating a body orifice, especially for removal of an obstruction in the body orifice. This invention provides such improved system for illuminating a body orifice.